Alaska To Italy: Sport Climbing Routes In Dardago

Dave was put on night shift recently and it has proved to be a huge advantage for us; we can usually fit in a mini adventure before he has to go to work at 3:00 PM. So we started looking for places near Aviano, AFB that we can go out and get our nature fix and found some awesome climbing near Dardago. It's about 20 minutes from base to the trailhead, and took about 15 minutes to hike to the wall(my pace can best be described as a fast crawl). During the week, there is almost never anyone there but on the weekend it gets a little busy as the locals come out to what has to be one of the best climbing walls in the area. If you're not into climbing, this hike offers a pretty awesome view of the valley that is definitely worth the 15 minute walk and jumping around from boulder to boulder in the river on the way in/out is also a huge bonus!

We went down river a little way to let Gimli swim around and it was beautiful!

Description
This wall has a little bit of everything to offer; easy beginner routes to killer overhangs. We used a 70M rope and will continue to do so until we graduate to some of the longer, tougher routes. Single pitch limestone wall. Most the routes have a bolted top anchor and plenty of bolted protection on the way up.

Dave checking out the wall on the way in.

Getting There
Drive toward Budoia, the town roundabouts will point you in the direction of Dardago. From SP29 or Via Pedamontana Occidentale, turn left on Via Castello. Stay to the right as it splits and turns into Via San Tome. Stay on San Tome until you reach the parking pullout to the right of a restaurant(NOT the first parking lot/restaurant combo). It's a gravel parking area, not paved, and has a couple of trail map signs to the left of the pullout. Park here and walk up the road to a gate on the right, follow this trail across the river and up to the church. To the right of the church there is a trail heading up to the wall. as you pass the church, stay to the trail on the left that switchbacks its way up the hill.

Via San Tomè, 87, 33070 Budoia PN, Italy

You can copy this address and enter it into your phone's map app or click on this this link to be redirected to google maps.

redirect you to google maps.

The view of the wall from the church.

Once You're There
The main wall is where you can find a majority of more difficult routes with a few intermediate ones in between. Hike to the far left for the easier beginner routes. There are benches you can drag around to use. There is also a fire ring but I don't know any of the local rules on campfires well enough to suggest using it or not, sorry!

The route description for the main, more difficult part of the wall.

Additional Information

I would definitely recommend wearing a helmet on this wall, even when you don't have someone on the wall or a top rope set. While Dave was untangling our mess of rope, I'll go ahead and give myself credit for that rats nest, I was wandering around snapping photos and a chunk of limestone the size of a softball came down barely three feet away from Dave. A second time we heard one come down about ten feet from where we were sitting, eating jerky and working up the motivation to lead another route.

I would bring a footprint or some kind of mat/pad to put your gear on. I set my pack on the ground and when it came time to leave, it was covered in ants and I mean COVERED! Dave traded me packs to hike back out to the car. My hero!

We bring our dog, Gimli along for this wall but he's pretty obedient and doesn't wander far. If you're worried about your dog tumbling down the cliff or harassing other climbers, I would suggest letting Fido sit this one out. Right now we're in the process of teaching him that stepping on the rope is a no-no, but we'll see if his stubbornness beats my determination. Be aware there are definitely ticks in the area and give your pup a good inspection once you get home.

Gimli checking out the wall before he attempts his first free solo.

I would take a screenshot or have a printed climbing grade conversion handy as the sign with the route names and grades are in the UIAA grading system on the 'easy' part of the wall, and the French system for the main wall(confusing, right?) We've been using this one, courtesy of wikipedia.